Doris' Year-End Blog Post

I can’t believe another year is coming to an end -- and what a year it’s been!  Although I’m usually not too thrilled about celebrating my birthday, you all have made my entire 90^th year so special with your love and support for the precious babies.  Here are just a few of the highlights ...

My April birthday weekend celebration in Carmel

So many of you came to Carmel to join in the fun, and I was very happy to see you all.  For those of you who couldn’t be there, the weekend started off with Jim Martinez and Laura Didier’s wonderful tribute show that seems to have become an annual tradition.  The next night was my big birthday dinner at the Quail Lodge—a truly incredible evening for me…meeting everyone, being entertained by the talented Sue Raney and Peter Marshall and raising more than twice our $90K goal amount for my Foundation—it doesn’t get better than that!  The following day we had our doggie fashion show and adoption at my Cypress Inn, hosted by my pal, Jackie Joseph.  As most of you know, Jackie and I go way back to the “Doris Day Show,” and she was instrumental in our early days of animal welfare work, so I was thrilled when she agreed to help us out.  Our grantees, SPCA for Monterey County and Peace of Mind Dog Rescue, provided the “runway models,” and I was excited to hear that several of the doggies went to their forever homes with some of you, traveling as far as Arizona, Colorado and Pennsylvania.  It was truly a magical weekend, and we couldn’t have done it without our dedicated volunteers, generous sponsors and ALL OF YOU! 

Here are a few photos for you to enjoy.  If you haven’t already ordered your Birthday Celebration DVD highlighting the entire weekend, you may still do so here. All proceeds from the DVD directly benefit the Doris Day Animal Foundation.

Crystal Cruises Film & Theatre Cruise Tribute to Doris Day

I was honored that Crystal Cruises decided to do a Doris Day Tribute Cruise on the beautiful Crystal Symphony sailing to Panama Canal and several other spectacular ports along the way this past May.  I wish I could have been there myself, but I got a full report!  The days onboard were filled with presentations of my films and a career retrospective (led by Dr. Drew Casper, USC School of Cinematic Arts), discussions of fashion and style from my films (by William Squire and Susan Stein); reminiscences of working together from Jackie Joseph, and Kelly Lester’s tribute show, “It’s Magic, the Life and Music of Doris Day.”  Our very own Lea Price represented the Doris Day Animal Foundation with a presentation, silent auction and a daily hospitality desk to help raise funds for the four-leggers.  Here are a few photo highlights.

Scott Dreier’s “Doris and Me” Tribute Show

Entertainer Scott Dreier has been a friend to the animals for a long time and has put together a wonderful show of my music, titled “Doris and Me."  When he told me he wanted to make DDAF the beneficiary of his July two-week run at the El Portal Theatre in North Hollywood, I could hardly believe it.  Not only did he donate all of the proceeds of his CD sales throughout the run, but the entire opening night benefited my Foundation.  He and his talented friend, David Engel, put together a video of red carpet interviews with some old pals, including Miriam Nelson (who taught me some of those tricky dance steps I did with her husband, Gene, in “Lullaby of Broadway”),  and several of my movie kids who attended the gala event, such as Christopher Olsen (“The Man Who Knew Too Much”), Kym Karath and Brian Nash (“The Thrill of It All”), and Teddy Quinn (“The Ballad of Josie”).  Here they are, all grown up, in photos and a great video!

DDAF Online Store

So many of you have been asking, and I’m excited that we were able to open our online store in time for the holidays!  We have some wonderful DDAF logo items to use and wear to show your support, and of course, proceeds benefit the Foundation.  More items will be added in the new year, so please check back often.  Also, don’t forget that ALL of your other online shopping can benefit DDAF by simply clicking on your favorite vendors at GoodSearch/GoodShop  and choosing Doris Day Animal Foundation as your cause.

It’s truly been an incredible year. We’ve been able to help so many animals, and I hope we can keep the momentum going into 2015.  I’m so blessed and grateful to all of you, my wonderful friends and supporters.  So from all of my babies and me, I wish you and yours the most joyous of holidays and a happy, healthy New Year!

With my love,

Doris